Ping and her brother Pong were orphaned after their mother was hit by a car in 2008. |
NLWS

Ping arrived at Northern Lights Wildlife Society (NLWS) in British Columbia back in 2008 with her brother, Pong, after their mother was hit by a car and killed. Sadly, Pong soon passed away, too. But rescuers managed to raise Ping into a healthy and happy young deer, ready to go back into the forest.

Later that year, rescuers set Ping free.

Four years later, in 2012, NLWS got a special visitor: Ping. And she had someone with her.

This week, five years after that visit, Ping returned with twice the surprise.

"Today was extra special as she brought twins along when taking a drink from the horse trough," Angelika Langen, co-founder and manager of NLWS, told The Dodo.

Langen said Ping's visits to the rescue center lend extra meaning to the work of saving wildlife. Currently, British Columbia is suffering from wildfires, so this reminder is especially welcome as the displaced animals from those blazes will start coming in to wildlife rehabilitation centers.

"Not only has she succeeded at a life in the wild (finding food and avoiding predators) but she is also successfully raising her own young," Langen said. "These glimpses into the life after release are precious and remind us that it is always worth it to try."